The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
‭‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭22‬-‭23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

I don’t know about you, but I can’t read that scripture without singing the words.

This blog post was birthed from a Bible plan author, who wrote how she changed her morning routine to one of surrender simply by lifting her arms to God each time she rolled out of bed. I tucked the thought away until yesterday’s sermon explained how God forgets our sins by choice when we repent.

As I sing the words of the scripture above, I can lose sight of the truth of them. I can’t fathom that God would give me second chances, let alone third, fourth, fifth… I want to wrestle with my sins until they no longer have power over me to entangle me again. What would it feel like to start each day with a clean slate.

What does scripture say about this?

Love is patient,  love is kind. Love does not envy,  is not boastful, is not arrogant,  is not rude, is not self-seeking,  is not irritable,  and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures  all things.
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬

God is love, so you can confidently say God does not keep a record of wrongs. How freeing is that? How can this be true?

But our High Priest, (Jesus), offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time… For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, … “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”

And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭12‬, ‭14‬-‭15‬, ‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (parenthesis mine)

Jesus sacrifice was good for all time, all the past, the present, and the future. Again this point is reiterated.

Christ suffered and died for sins once and for all—the innocent for the guilty —to bring you near to God by his body being put to death and by being raised to life by the Spirit.
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭TPT‬‬

Does He truly forget our sins?

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

And —

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them…
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬a NLT‬‬

But we do have a responsibility in all this, a gift must be received to be accessed, and forgiveness for sin is a gift.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

His forgiveness is not impotent. It is like a supernatural stain remover — no stain is left — we are fresh and new again.

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭AMP‬‬

With a clean slate we are free to walk in the freedom that comes with following God in obedience. Our missteps are in the past, forgotten. It’s time to let go. We can’t wrestle our sins away. If we could we would have no need for Jesus’ sacrifice. Each time we confess our sins we are forgiven and can move forward with Jesus, hand in hand. He knows how to cleanse us. We can trust He will.

May your new year be full of new mercies every morning and His steadfast love every day.

Grace and peace,

Sandy

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